The vest is a classic piece of country clothing that has not gone out of fashion.
Vests are traditionally associated with ranchers, cowboys and cowgirls as well as outdoor workers who can weather any storm. These niches are filled with farmers, who often combine the livestock aspect with long hours in the outdoors that usually come with hand-on farming.
Vests act as a body armor, wrapping snugly around your body to keep in warmth and protect you from the harsh winter weather. Vests span the fashion gamut, from rugged, weather-repelling cotton duck in dark colors to more upscale dress vests in lovely colors — soft, feminine-type fabrics and wooly, woven-sweater designs.
When my neck is cold, I’m cold. The collar should be able to fit snugly around my neck, so the vest must have a collar. The collar is designed to keep out the elements, such as snow, rain, and sleet. On wet, windy days, the hoodie attachment can be a welcomed addition.
Traditional vest fabrics include denim and tear-resistant heavy-duty cottons. Vests need to be lined with thick and warm insulation material for comfort during the wintry weather blasts that we have recently experienced. Synthetic, water-resistant “puffy” vests are also valuable if one has to be out in wet-snowy-sleeting weather. It must not allow moisture to absorb and should keep wearer comfortable and dry.
It was a cool morning, and the sun was just starting to heat the yard, so I donned my cold-weather clothes. My plan was to go out and fuel the wood stove, as well as tend to the barn animals. Then,… the garment disaster.
My beloved soft, warm and loved fleece vest gave up on me. The zipper was the problem. The zipped-together teeth were four inches above the bottom. They remained unzipped right up to the top. It was clear that the zipper was loose and would not stay closed after several attempts.
The failure wasn’t totally unexpected. Over a few prior days of use, the zipper had felt a bit balky, seeming to “stick” while closing it up. Perhaps the vest needed to be cleaned, as some dirt and sticky material was sticking to its plastic teeth. Faced with zipper disaster, I substituted a lighter-weight fleece jacket … with a zipper that wasn’t sure it wanted to cooperate either. Extended use can cause plastic zippers to lose their track. Were you expecting a week with zapped zippers every day?
Back inside, I tossed the vest and the jacket into the washing machine, along with a favorite barn sweatshirt and an ancient puffy, nylon-shell vest I hadn’t worn in ages. I decided I’d better run it through the wash cycle in case I needed to fall back on it as a substitute for the fleece.
After the laundry cycle was completed, I took my gray fleece vest, which is my favourite, from the pile of clothes at the bottom of our machine. The vest was covered with feathers. Feathers! Where is the best place to find feathers?
Evidently, the nylon vest had been filled up with feather down. Its damp shell hung limp and thin, the “puffiness” having gone away. There were tiny feathers everywhere — scattered over the floor, clinging to each damp garment, sticking to me, and floating out into the adjoining room..
This looked like the result of an early Thanksgiving turkey-catching session.
To try to get rid of any feathery fuff, I took the soggy clothes outside and shook them vigorously. The best way to get rid of residue sticking to clothes is to put them in the dryer. After two minutes, I pulled out the filter to remove two huge fistfuls feather fluff.
While the fleece vest is still in good condition, the zipper does not separate. Despite losing its “pouf,” the rain-resistant synthetic is still wearable as a moisture-repellent vest, although its zipper looks frayed at the bottom. Later, I retrieved the handfuls of feathery fluff from the trash where I’d thrown them and put it outside in the flower bed near the porch. Maybe some backyard songbirds could use it as insulation for their winter homes.
Doing an online search, out of curiosity for the phrase “feather your nest,” yielded an impressive list of items for sale to decorate in cozy, homey décor. Every item featured a feather theme, including wallpaper and soft pillows as well as blankets.
However, it seems that no one really wants to decorate with real feathers. It is unlikely that a basement that looks like it belongs in a decorating magazine will be featured.
The hen was soon seen on the porch looking in through the basement window. Maybe she’s shopping for a new coop and figured our feathered digs were available.